Posters of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani are seen outside a mosque in central Baghdad, Jan. 24, 2005. The prominent Shiite cleric is by far the most dominant figure in the vote, and the slate of candidates he has endorsed was likely to fare best, with thousands of election posters bearing his image being plastered across the country. Many Iraqis said they'd vote just because he said they should.

Baghdad resident walks across an overpass above the electoral banner featuring the portrait of Interim Iraqi prime minister Ahmed Allawi, with text reading, "Strong Leadership," Jan. 15, 2005. Allawi is the head of the United Iraqi Alliance, which is fielding more than 200 candidates in the elections.

Credit: AP

Iraqi students sit below posters advertising the elections, near the university compound in Baghdad, Jan. 9, 2005.

Credit: AP

U.S. Army soldiers remove a poster from the outside of a mosque in Mosul, Iraq, Jan. 20, 2005. The poster bore a message threatening Iraqis who vote.

Credit: AP

A U.S. soldier photographs boxes containing ballots for upcoming Iraqi elections, in the warehouse at Baghdad's international airport, Jan. 18, 2005.

Credit: AP/Pool/Keystone

An unidentified British Army officer, left, discusses security plans for the elections with some of his Iraqi colleages, at the Permanent Joint Operations Centre in Basra, Southern Iraq, Jan. 24, 2005. Security plans were being adjusted ahead of the Jan. 30 vote.

Credit: AP/The Times/Pool

Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawer arrives for a press conference in Baghdad, Dec. 1, 2004. Al-Yawer threw his support behind holding national elections on time on Jan. 30, saying the government had a legal and moral obligation to stick to that date.

Credit: AP

Clerics and tribal elders gather at a Sunni mosque in Baghdad to call for unity among Sunni and Shiite muslims and to discuss the future of Iraqi governance, Feb. 19, 2004. U.S. and Iraqi officials were awaiting an announcement by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the feasibility of holding legislative elections in Iraq before June 30.